Lisa's Beauty Spot: August 2015

Friday 28 August 2015

23 Shades Of Lisa | Lisa's Beauty Spot

21 Shades Of Lisa

Hi everyone! I haven't actually seen the post done anywhere, and it randomly popped into my head and I thought... Why not? Basically, I thought I'd share a photo of me, each year of my life.. All 21 of them. Took me a while to find them all, but I actually think I cracked it. Without further ado, let's get on with it!

Newborn

Here's me literally hours old, after a thirty two hour labour... And eventually forceps, as you can see on my face. And my rather square shaped head. Born February 15th 1994 weighing 6lbs 14oz.

One Year Old

Here's happy-smiley me aged one without a care in the world! Those were the days! I still have the same hair... And a square head... Hmmm... 1995

Two Years Old

Here I am aged two... Still, without a care in the world. Obviously, a hot day by the looks of the ice lolly. This is when my hair problems started, what a nightmare! 1996

Three Years Old

Aged three, and I actually have a jumper like that one, very similar, and it's very warm. Sitting on a plastic white chair. I have a V in my fringe... Interesting. 1997

Four Years Old

MOUTH HERPES!!! No, it's not. I still had my dummy till I was six or seven, and it used to rub on my face, I actually have a scar that's how much it rubbed. I believe around this time was when I started getting ill with my tonsils and ears, not too seriously though, that started later on. 1998

Five Years Old

Age five here, and still have rubbing from my dummy in the same place! Wish I'd given it up, you can really see in my teeth! I was to give it up in a year though... And then go back on it... That's willpower right there! Start as you mean to go on woman!! 1999

Six Years Old

This was just before I'd started falling really ill. I'd literally get tonsillitis every week. This was taken in early 2000. I was going to a friends birthday. This was the year I had my tonsils out, and also had grommets put into both my ears. The operation is called a tonsillectomy. 2000.

Seven Years Old

Year 2 in school, I'm a happy child. Who really, really loved school. At this point, I did. It wasn't so bad. It was as time went on... Oh boy. This was the year I left infant school and went to primary school.

Eight Years Old

Here I am, in a family portrait. This was literally a year before puberty hit me like a tonne of bricks (early puberty) and you'll see that in the next photo. Almost, the calm before the storm. I had no idea what was coming.

Nine Years Old

Aged nine. The spots had started, and the boobs were growing! I'd been to the doctors as this point to check everything was okay, and it was... I was just growing up too fast. Acne creams, 32B bra by the end of this year, antibiotics for my skin.. And the next year... My period. Why me?! The bullying started here, because I looked different to everybody else.

Ten Years Old

Ten years old. In my Mary-Kate and Ashley set bought from ASDA. I loved it. I didn't love my teeth anymore, no more teethy grins... They were all sticky-outie then, and the dentist wouldn't give me braces because he wanted my mouth and jaw to grow more. Doesn't happen like that now, they just want the money... Those darn orthodontists! I'm on holiday in Skegness here, in a caravan!

Eleven Years Old

Go onto Google and search "Jordan I'm a celebrity 2004" and it will come up with her, with braids very similar to mine, and that - ladies and gentleman is the only answer I can give you as to why I had these done. I had them done a little while after I'm a Celebrity and really wanted them done myself. I had them done at Gigi's Afro Caribbean hairdressers in Harlow, in mid 2005 - just after my eleventh birthday - and I believe they were a birthday present, they lasted eight weeks. That's eight weeks no brushing, and my hair was super fluffy, well like cotton wall when they were taken out... And, you can see in this photo.. They also gave me mild alopecia! Which was great as well, bald patches at eleven years old... I didn't care though! I guess it must have been worth it? Also, my hair wasn't that blonde... Those are extensions, my hair is the dark blonde at top! I'd also moved schools at this point, due to the bullying previously mentioned. Awful, awful AWFUL! (Oh and you can really see the spots here, by my nose, but not my rather large boobies here... Which I'm relieved about - because I looked ridiculous! In a few short months I was headed off to secondary school... I was also 5ft 1inch here... I'm now 5ft 2inches, and this was taken ten years ago... Wow.

Twelve Years Old

I can honestly say, hand on heart... I f*****g hate this photo with a passion - but it's part of me... And well, I guess I should embrace it? I really can't. Puberty was awful at this point. I seem to remember awful painful periods and being fat and ugly compared to all the other pretty skinny girls who puberty didn't really hit till next year and the year after. I dreamed of pretty skin, a flat tummy and to look nice in photos. I seriously struggled with my weight at this point, because I used to comfort eat, and I'd love huge portions. I weighed about 9 and a half stone here... I don't know a lot of eleven and twelve year olds who weigh that now. I was unhappy in my body and felt like I'd never change. I think if I'd know at the time, I'd have probably gone on the pill to help manage my periods a bit better. PMT was an arse to me, I'd be that dramatic woman you'd see crying into ice cream, expect I'd run off to my room and scream and cry the house down, not even knowing what was wrong... I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.

Thirteen Years Old

I was at Southend here, on a ride that made my ears pop! So I was holding my fingers in my ears and being baffled by the scary shizzle in my face. Nasty cluster on spots on my face here, on both sides on my nose. And, they hurt. I went to the doctor about these, and was put back on medication for them... It helped a bit. I had my nails french manicured here, with the hope I'd stop biting my nails... But, when they came off... I carried on... It's not that I didn't want to stop, it was just too hard and a habit so formed in my brain I did it without being aware to the point my fingers would bleed.. I liked the taste of that stuff you put on your nails, so that didn't work either!

Fourteen Years Old

Okay, so at this point I'd discovered hair straighteners... But, there are so many fly-aways! The weather was mean to my hair! Also, this is Garfield's little brother Burtie! I'd also dyed my hair blonde at this point, I remember wanting it bleach blonde for as long as I could remember... But, it would have DESTROYED my hair... As I was to find out in a few short years when I made an awful, awful hair mistake!

Fifteen Years Old

Here I am... in 2009 - just after Michael Jackson died. I was sad! It was a really sad day, and everything on the telly was just Michael Jackson. I'd had my hair dyed brown and had blonde highlights put in, I fancied a change - it's also quite short here, but didn't look that bad... And it wasn't the shortest it was ever going to be... That was coming up in a few years! I was still in secondary school, and was also practising for my GSCES the next year!

Sixteen Years Old

I'd lost a s**t tonne of weight here, and weighed just under nine stone, which is the lowest weight I've ever been... I'm aiming to be around here now. So, sweet sixteen! My sixteenth birthday here! I'd gone for a meal at Pizza Hut, got my nails done and then chilled on MySpace and Facebook the rest of the evening. MY EYEBROWS ARE SO THIN! I loved them thin... This was 2010, so the year I did my GCSE'S, left school, went to America for the first time and got my first job. Busy, hectic year but it was alright. When I first started at Maccy D's I was on £4.25 an hour which was depressing as hell! It then went up to £5 an hour when I turned 18... Whipdy f*****g do, it didn't make a whole lot of difference.

Seventeen Years Old

Ladies and gentleman, meet the biggest mistake I've ever made... With my hair. This was a few days after a hairdressers visit... "Please dye my hair the brightest red you have" Says Lisa... Sweet innocent Lisa... Like every other seventeen year old, I got bored of it pretty soon, and it was too high maintenance so I wanted to be blonde again HAAAAAAAAAH! Not that easy there lassy! In the hairdressers they'd used a highly pigmented henna hair dye... And guess what... IT TOOK FOREVER TO GET OUT. I went from ginger, back to red, red to black... Then, the dreaded bleaching came along.. It look two lots of bleaching, and even after that the red was still there. I will be sharing two photos for seventeen, as I'd like to show you the finished hair. I was determined to be blonde by my eighteenth birthday, and somehow I think I actually did it...

Here we are, Christmas Day 2011... How my hair didn't fall out, I don't know... Oh wait... That was to come soon.

Eighteen Years Old

I went to another hairdressers, and they fixed my hair up for me. I had my hair done one day before my eighteenth birthday, and they saved the day. This was the year I met Mark. I met him in June 2012, and we began our relationship in September 2012, about three weeks after I came back from my second America trip.

Nineteen Years Old

I'm silly. I couldn't bleach my hair again, and my hair was falling out. So, I went to the hairdressers - they stripped my hair and then cut it... I was in bits. It had grown at bit since this was taken but - it was as short as my fringe is there... It touched my face... However, it did grow back quite fast, and I learned to love it. Here's me on my nineteenth birthday, Mark had surprised me with a trip to NYC and I had no idea what so ever! We went out for a lovely meal, and just... Had fun in Time Square. I also quite my job at McDonalds, and moved to Leeds with Mark for work for nine months.

Twenty Years Old

No longer a teenager! I'd gained quite a bit of weight here - I don't know why, I hated it... This was taken my twentieth birthday - and we were again in New York! I'd had all my hair and make-up done professionally and we went out for a lovely meal, even though it was freezing cold and heavily snowing! I also got a lovely birthday cake! Me and Mark also rented our first house together this year! (2014) We still live there now!

Twenty One Years Old

Twenty One! Here I am pictured on my twenty first birthday outside Heathrow Terminal 4 - where we were staying, as two days after my birthday we were jetting off to the States. We stayed over there for six weeks! I unfortunately received some nasty second degree burns in Florida, but they're healed now, and the scars are looking much better! Time has flown by!

Twenty Two Years Old

Here I am at twenty two. This photo was taken on my second trip to Florida, around the end of February 2016. This trip was amazing! I was diagnosed with SLE when I was 22, it was a tough time for me

Twenty Three Years Old

And here we are, right now - I'm 23. I only turned 23 very recently, but I've changed a lot in a year, I've lost a lot of weight and have started to accept my diagnosis.

I'll update this when I turn twenty four and so on, but - we'll see! This was a bit of fun, why don't you try it?

Thank you for reading!

Please follow me on Twitter

Lisa ♥

Monday 24 August 2015

My First Time | Lisa's Beauty Spot

My First Time

NO IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! Hey there everyone! I saw Zoella's video of "My First Time" when it first came out in July 2013, and I remember thinking "If I ever start a blog, that will be one of my blog posts. Anyway, I literally just remembered that, as I re-watched her vlog and now, I'm going to do it. I'm also going to be doing the same questions as her, because.... Why not? (Well, the answer actually is, I love her.) If you haven't seen her Vlog I'd recommend it, it's fun and just interesting to watch. Here is the link. Okay, without further ado here we go...

First Word: Dadda! I was around two, so I would have looked like this.

First Teddy: Bobby! I got him when I was born, he used to have a big red bow.. And it fell off when I was about 8-9? I'm about 6-7 in this picture, and that's Bobby with me...And his bow. He's a scraggly mess now unfortunately... I think I look much better for 21.

My first friend: Hmm, I remember being friends with the girls who used to live a few doors up from us, but I can't remember their names. I remember one of the sisters I was really close with left my school when I was off school for a couple of weeks when I had my tonsillectomy. Her name will probably pop into my head later... And, I believe I first met them when I was three or four? Then when I actually started school my first friends were called Fay and Lianne. I have some fabulous photos of us growing up... But I won't be sharing those! I still speak to Lianne a lot, and she lives in the same town as me. I remember growing up I loved her jacket, and I begged my mum to buy me the same one! I even remember where it was from... Matalan! And it was so expensive... To a seven year old, I think it was like £18? Maybe £20... Breaking the bank there! It was a long, blue denim coat with fur on it and also flowers.

My First School Crush: Ummm, I don't think I actually had my proper school crush till I was about seven, maybe older because I was so horrendously bulled I just hated all the boys. They were complete dicks to me, and now I look back and think... Maybe they fancied me? Anyway, my first school crush... I believe I was in Year 3? So, yeah I was seven.. I'd just started school and there was this guy in Year 6, and all the girls liked him, his name was Steven, and I never even spoke to him.. Probably because I was seven and he was like eleven... God, have I always liked older guys? Mark is nine years older than me! But, yeah... My first crush at seven, Steven, year six, 2001-2002 time? Well, he left in 2002, and I was sad! God, this is awkward... I hope he doesn't read and make the connection.

My First Kiss: I'm not going to name the guy, but it was when I moved Primary School. I was in year 5 and we were slow dancing at a disco, and when I was getting picked up he kissed me on the lips. I was smitten for days, he'd kissed me on the cheek loads, and I found it sweet. I don't think I ever kissed him on the cheek though. I remember the second time he kissed me, and the teacher walked past and said "That's not appropriate for school!" to which I said something like "It was just a kiss, miss" - We broke up like, a week later! Young love at it's finest ladies and gentleman! We broke up because I saw him talking to another girl... Who I eventually found out was his cousin! I'm brutal!

My First Celebrity Crush: My first celebrity crush was Kian Egan from Westlife! From about age six onwards I fell in love with Westlife, and Kian was my favourite. I was so proud of him when he won I'm a Celebrity! I actually nearly cried! And, that was the first time I'd ever voted for anyone on I'm A Celebrity. Then, it was Johnny Depp, (Who I do still crush on today) and I think I first noticed him properly on Pirates of the Caribbean. so, yeah. Two completely different people.

My First Boyfriend: My first boyfriend was when I was in my first primary school, I'd say we were about 10? And fair play to him... He stuck by my side when I was getting the s**t ripped out of me by those dicks in school. We actually dated for ages, and when we united again as teenagers, we got back together for a few months.

My First Job: My first job started on July 18th 2010 at McDonald's, twelve days after I returned from my first ever trip to America, we went to Florida.. I hadn't even gone to pick up my GCSE results, in fact - I had the work the day my results were ready, I did a 6am-3pm shift, and went straight from work to school, to get my results. I remember going to pick them up and a teacher laughing at me in my Maccy D's uniform! Thanks a bunch! Made me feel great! I had some highs and some real lows in that job. I learnt a lot, and made friends, but then something happened (Not in the work place) that scarred me, and if the person who did that to me is reading this, they'll do know it's them.. And I really hope you sleep well at night, and can live with yourself. Back onto happy stuff! There were some right quirky, funny customers and some real memorable moments... Like, a guy ringing up like "hey, I need 100 Chicken Nugget Happy Meals" it was for a party, and amazingly - it didn't take that long to do.. Mainly because he wanted Fruit Shoots as all the drinks... If he'd wanted milkshakes, I'm pretty sure the machine would have broken... Because that milkshake machine was utter shite and broke down all the time... Especially on busy Saturday lunchtimes.. The abuse I used to receive, like it was my fault and I'd broken it.. Like, f**k off I'm on £5 an hour, and I'm here for another eight hours... Stop making my day even more s**t than it already is!!! I also did work experience for two weeks in a preschool just after my sixteenth birthday, and I actually loved it so much. The children were lovely, they were aged 3-5 and I remember parents coming up to the teachers and saying "Do you have someone called Lisa working here? Only so and so keeps mentioning someone called Lisa" And, that actually melted my heart.

Here we are, this was taken on the 21st February 2013. A fews after my nineteenth birthday. I'd just come back from New York for four days. I couldn't be there any longer, because these bastards wouldn't let me, and honestly, I think it shows in my face. This was the day I got the new uniform, and it honestly is as disgusting as it looks. I hated it... Luckily, I left a few months later.

My First Concert: My first concert was on December 15th 2007 and I went to see Status Quo with my friend Emily at Wembley. It was fun! I was thirteen at the time, and I remember after the show my poor ears nearly fell off they hurt so much. It was amazing though, and I loved it so much! I also remember I stayed over at hers the night, because we got back really, really late. About 2am? And that was a big thing for me as well, because I was never really allowed to stay around peoples houses overnight.. But, I think there wasn't really much choice at that point.

My First Blog Post: That is very recent! My first blog post was written on the 2nd June 2015 and can be viewed here. It's called "Lisa's Beauty Wishlist"

So there we are, there are a handful of my firsts. I missed out the my first car question, because I don't drive or own a car.

Feel free to do this blog! I nominate you ALL! Who read this..

Thank you for reading!

Please follow me on Twitter

Lisa ♥

Friday 21 August 2015

The Kitty Escapades Of My Life! | Lisa's Beauty Spot

The Kitty Escapades Of My Life!

Okay, so I was unsure about what to blog about for these past two weeks, I was reading through some other lovely peoples blog posts and I saw quite a lot about pets! I've had four cats in my life and one dog. Pictured are the four beautiful kitties who graced my life for nineteen years altogether. They all have their own quirky little stories and personalities, so I thought I'd share them with you!

First on the left is Buster. Buster will always have a very special place in my heart. My earliest childhood memories consist of this little man. Buster was born in January 1997, and we'd had him since he was a tiny kitten of about eight weeks, so I'd say March 1997 was when I first met him.

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I believe he is under one years old here. Even as a baby he was always curled up someone sleeping. He was a character and so funny. He wasn't the world's most social cat, unless you had food or you were ill... Then he'd never leave your side.

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And here's proof of that! Here I am aged 6, just after having my tonsils taken out, I spent some time out of school, and I remember him just being with me the whole time. Either snuggled up by my feet, or on the floor or as seen here, having a cuddle... (Which was a rare occurrence, he wasn't a lap cat as such but was so affectionate and loving)

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Doesn't he look absolutely gorgeous here? I never realised how photogenic he really was. Everyone who used to come round used to tell us how handsome he was. He is ten or eleven here, I remember this was taken just before I turned 14. As you can see he was gorgeously fluffy and had hazel-green eyes. I remember one night we were watching TV when all of a sudden we heard this screaming coming from the garden shed, it went on and on so we went to investigate. We went in and saw Buster... And a toad. The toad was screaming at the top of his lungs, and Bust was just staring at it like "What the hell is wrong with you?!" it was hilarious, he wouldn't hurt it. I feel terrible for sharing this memory, but it just shows how placid and laid back Buster really was. When I was three, and we'd had him a matter of weeks I was playing in the garden with him, then all of a sudden I came running in the house shouting "CAT, CAT!!!" ... Holding Buster by either the scruff of his neck, or by his neck... I'm a terrible person. He forgave me pretty quickly though, and we played as normal within minutes.

Disclaimer: Trigger warning. This next photo is a little upsetting, but it's all part of his life unfortunately, and I do want to share it with you. Also, it contains fourteen year old me... Which is awful!

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As upsetting as it is, we all get poorly as we get older and Buster was no exception. Sadly from about age eleven he started getting abscesses on his head, and in his mouth. When he had the abscess on his head, his face swelled up so much and he didn't look like the same cat. It was a hard few months, amazingly however he managed to pull through the worst of it. He had some of his teeth removed, like the old man he was and then we tried to carry on as normal, and amazingly his personality just flourished.. And he was back. Before he fell ill Buster used to love takeaway food. He loved just about anything, but his favourite was Chinese food and Kebabs... With loads of chilli sauce. After having his teeth out we kept him away from the chilli sauce... For obvious reasons.. Once he'd healed.. He'd practically beg for the stuff! It was so amazing, and he was so strong and almost didn't let it phase him at all! He was fantastic with other cats, as we had three other arrivals into the family in 2007 & 2008. Which I will introduce to you shortly.

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I started working at McDonald's on the 18th July 2010, I had the problem of Buster constantly laying on my clothes when I left them on the bed, and he'd leave big fluff patches on them. I went to work on the 11th August 2010 like any other day, it was a great shift (Long, but it had been fun) I started at 12pm and finished at around 9pm. My Dad came to pick me up as normal, and when I got in the I was smiling and ready to share my day, when Dad told me to prepare myself, he then told me Buster had been very poorly the whole day, and even though the vet tried, he was put to sleep. I burst into tears, I was broken. I'd never got a chance to say goodbye. I'd not seen him that day. I actually felt numb. He was so special, and he was gone just like that. It was leukaemia of the blood that took him, and I'd like to think he wasn't suffering too long. All of my school friends who'd known him were sad. I think I miss his unique meow and him trying to take the food off my place, but most of all it's the someone to talk to when you have silly problems, because I can tell you now... This cat knew when something was up, and he'd stay... Listen and then you'd feel better. He will always be my little fluff and I'll miss him always ♥

And on the top right is Sophie. Sophie was a rescue cat, that we rescued from Wood Green Animal Shelter in Godmanchester in 2007. We visited the shelter looking for a new addition to the family, but wasn't going to walk out for the first cat we saw.. They had to be special. And, that's when we saw Sophie. Sophie was described as a seven year old, female moggy cat who's good with families and okay with other cats. I loved her at first sight. I sat down on a seat in the bit where she was, and she came straight up to me and wanted some fuss. We were all baffled by her half tabby, half ginger nose. She was a complete mix up of colour. Very quickly we all realised we'd fallen in love with Sophie, and we put the £50 charity donation for her, and before we knew it she was coming home was us. When Sophie met Buster she was very unsure and, unfortunately... That's how it stayed. She didn't like him at all, and avoided him at all costs.

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Sophie was a very lazy cat, whenever you'd pick her up she'd do this cute little meow. Everytime! It was weird, because she loved fuss and being on your lap, at first it was a concern that she didn't like it... But she did. Over time, Sophie became very secluded and wanted to be on her own. She spent most of her time in my bed, and would only socialise with me. Which, of course I loved but it didn't work well her being scared all the time. The sanctuary didn't really describe her well at all. They said she was fine with cats, dogs and children. She was fine with children but very insecure about other cats, and from what I saw one day absolutely terrified of dogs.

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It was mid 2008 and I went to school, I came back home for lunch and went to call Sophie in like I always did. She didn't respond to me calling. I called her again and again. Nothing.. Buster did, and so did madam.. Who you will be meeting very soon. But, nothing from Sophie. At that point I thought something was wrong, not like she'd be in an accident because she was very street smart, I called my Mum and asked literally "Mum, have you taken Sophie back to the sanctuary?" she said "Why do you ask that?" and I said "Well, cos she's not coming in and she always does" Mum just said we'd talk later, and I knew at that point. I was angry, and then upset. She'd taken to me, and I'd loved her. I'm pretty sure she's probably in heaven now, if not she'll be fifteen, I hope she is still out there, and if not she'll be in kitty heaven knowing I loved her very, very much. I think of her quite a lot, she was so quirky and very funny. ♥

Ready for two hilarious little characters? On the bottom left is Jessica and on the bottom right is Garfield. These two are very special. Firstly because they're mother and son and secondly because, they're brilliant.

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It was May time, in 2008. We had Buster and Sophie still at the time. I went round my cousins and he'd "found" a cat. She was pregnant, about 1-2 weeks and she was beautiful. Her name was Molly. She was very malnourished but a very loving cat. I sat down and she jumped up my lap and wanted a cuddle, I turned to my Dad and said "Aw, Dad I want her" to which my cousin replied, "You can have her if you want" it's not that he didn't care, he did.. He just wasn't in the position to be looking after a pregnant cat. Dad said no, and we went home. Two weeks later I came home from school and was told to be very quiet when I came in.. Confused, I walked in and there was Molly laying there on the sofa! I was so happy and quietly went over to give her a cuddle. She laid on her back and I gently rubbed her swollen, pregnant tummy. At this point she was around a month pregnant.

Turns out while I'd been at school, Mum and Dad had been been at my cousins to get her. She needed a stable home to give birth. The next day was a Saturday, and we were all up early to put names in a hat to name her. I (weirdly, and I'm glad it didn't come out to be honest..) put in Amethyst, as it's my birthstone. My Mum put in Mitzy and there were a few more names I can't remember. My youngest brother put in Jessica. My other brother didn't put in a name because he wanted to choose her name. Then, her name came out the hat. Jessica. Perfect! She looked like a Jessica, and pretty soon she responded to Jessica and Jess. 9th June 2008 come along, by this time Jess is at full term (Cats carry for nine weeks) my brother accidentally trod on her tail, and she ran off into her box. Within the hour she'd given birth to five beautiful kittens. Two tabbies, one tortoiseshell, one ginger, white and tabby - and one (what we thought, a dark brown tabby) My dad was hoping for a Ginger Tom, and was sadly disappointed. Within three hours that little brown tabby turned out to be a little pure Ginger, with a little bit of cream on the neck. Unsure of the sexes, we were smitten with them all. They began to grow and flourish. They had gorgeous temperaments, and Jess allowed us to handle them within a day or so, which was amazing. She had such trust in us within weeks.

Sadly, just before the kittens were born that was when Sophie was re-homed. We had a neighbour come round and tell us the sex of the kittens. The two tabbies were male, the tortoiseshell was female (As we expected), the tabby, ginger and white was also female, and of course the ginger was a boy. A Ginger Tom, we were also taught how to tell the sex of the kittens, if theres a dot it's a boy and if it's a slit it's a girl. When the kittens were six or seven weeks old, that's when we put four out of five up for sale. The ginger was staying with us, and when people came round and saw him, they wanted him - I mean how couldn't you?! He was adorable! His eye is all manky, cos he'd been play fighting with his siblings, and they didn't seem to grasp the fact that their claws are sharp!

Here is little man at around nine-ten weeks, he still had one of his brothers living with him as he was bought by my Aunt and Uncle for my young Cousin. They bought on of the little tabby boys, and called him Burtie.

Here is the naughty little man again, around eleven weeks wanting my hand to pet his head. He was so cheeky and full of life. He managed to fall in the bin... Twice. He didn't learn the first time, we should of known he was going to be thick as anything... And, he really is thick! Sadly, this photo is only a week or two before little mans first operation. We'd also decided that if we were to have a ginger, he'd be called Garfield. So ladies and gents. This is the story of our two wonders - Jessica and Garfield.

Garfield, was born with a sticky out belly button which, strangely enough, he used to like us poking at. He'd purr more and almost smile. When he was either thirteen or fourteen weeks old, I got a text to say Garfield had been coughing and his belly button went rock hard. Mum and Dad took him to the vet. We then found out that sticky out belly button was a hernia, and it was his stomach poking out. Not the actual organ, you couldn't see it. He had an operation to have it fixed and, then he was a cone head for about a week.

Before his operation, Jessica constantly fussed over him - he kept trying to feed off her right up before his operation, even though he was on solid foods and he wouldn't have been getting milk. It was more of a comfort we guessed. So, Garfield came home. He went up to Buster, and Buster just stared at him it was like "Yes, you have a cone on you're head, you're still small and annoying" - then Jessica walked in the room. Well, bless his heart he ran up to his Mummy, and BAM! She walloped him over the head with her paw and hissed and spat at him. Oh dear, Mummy doesn't want to know... Or she didn't realise. I felt so bad, so I just gave him a gentle cuddle. He then went for a sulk in my room, and that's this picture here. He has the right ump here.

Jessica got pregnant five times altogether, she was a fantastic mother and brought all her kittens up without any help or intervention ever needed. In all five of her births, she gave birth to five kittens each time. Lots of tabbies, gingers and even a beautiful grey girl, who I wanted to keep.. She was beautiful!

In one of her last litters, a couple put down the money for one of the tabbies in that litter but wouldn't be able to get him until I believe he was about 9-11 weeks old. He was so attached to his half brother and Mummy, it was adorable.

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The little tabby also loved Buster, and Buster was fantastic with him. It seemed when Jessica got her motherly instinct back she loved on Garfield again, like he was a little baby.. And he of course, as you can see lapped it all up.

Nope! You are seeing correct! This is one of Garfield's half brothers, from I believe was Jessica's second litter of kittens! This little guy was obsessed with Garfield, they were always cuddling, and Garfield (Secretly) loved it.

I'd say Garfield and Jessica did notice when Buster had died, Jess was quieter and Garfield didn't have anyone else to annoy and play with other than Jess.

Garfield's personality grew very quickly, he was a funny, thick crazy animal who wasn't scared of anything, except sweeping brushes. This photo was taken in Winter 2008... Garfield's first Winter, and encounter with snow. Most cats would touch it, and run back in. Not this kitty. He creeped around in it for a while... Then came back in, realising it was cold. He really was thick. Maybe he hit his head those times when he fell in the bin!

He was thick, but so affectionate, and wanted all the fuss he could get. Here we are, in 2008. I'm around fourteen here. A hard part in my life, due to severe bullying, but they did really, really help.

Jessica was equally affectionate, and just wanted to be on someones lap, or apparently chest. She would literally just flop and snuggle.

I'm eighteen in these photos, Jessica is would have been five and Garfield four. She apparently loved to nuzzle into faces, as well.

Here we are, me aged nineteen, Jessica looks like a much older cat here, she was six and Garfield five. These were taken just before I went away for my twentieth birthday, and may have been the last time I saw them.

I came back from America in 2014, and due to Garfield and Jessica's deteriorating health, they were re-homed to a vet, who has another ginger cat called Garfield.

Garfield was never a completely healthy cat. At a very young age he was diagnosed with gingivitis which I found funny when I was younger, cos he was ginger. It got worse, and he eventually had to have a lot of teeth taken out, before this he actually used to smell rotten, and it was coming from his mouth.

Jessica, we believe was abused before we got hold of her, and she never really recovered from that, fast movements used to terrify her, and it got much harder as she got older.

I do find it really sad that all four of them were gone, and I never got a chance to say goodbye, I miss them all to this day. I've found some more photos I'd like to share with you, they're some of my favourites.